I didn’t know what to expect from Guild of Dungeoneering, made by Irish indie developer Gambrinous. Still, when I loaded up the game and was greeted by an art style that looked like it was drawn with a No. 2 pencil, I was hopeful. This was clearly a game that didn’t take itself that seriously, and it looked like it would be funny, if nothing else. I was right, but I highly underestimated the title. [Read more…]

After some urging from my brother Gabe, I plunked down $5 and picked up Home: A Unique Horror Adventure. It was worth every penny, and it definitely lived up to its name.

At first, the choices the game presented to me felt ambiguous and inconsequential. Should I have taken the gun? Would it have made any difference? It was hard to believe that my actions held any weight.

I breezed past many of the game’s smaller elements and clues without so much of a thought, but when I saw the main character wondering what else he could have discovered, I wanted to go back and see more. Not knowing the impact of your choices adds to the game’s sense of mystery.

But does it even matter, any of it? Maybe, maybe not. The choices lend the overall narrative its weight and impact. It’s up to the player to determine how horrible the final blow is once it lands.

Ultimately, Home is about both questions and partial answers. You’re not just solving a mystery; you’re determining what that mystery is. Whether it’s incredibly terrible or just really unfortunate all depends on you.

Ether Oneoffers an interesting take on the examination of dementia and the loss of memory. As one of the free games for PlayStation Plus last month, I went into this title without knowing much about it, other than the huge amount of praise heaped on it from the guys over at Outlaw Gamers Society.

Low-bit prison break simulator The Escapists has broken out of its PC gaming jail and escaped onto consoles. (I really sort of beat that metaphor to death in a single sentence, didn’t I?) Um, yeah. What I’m trying to say is that The Escapists is on PS4 now.

I prefer game physics that are at least moderately realistic or manage to have some sort of internal consistency, and Stranded Deep does neither of these things. I mean, when you can grab a dead shark and fly away on it, something might be a bit off, right?

Of course, I should preface this by saying “better” doesn’t necessarily mean “good.” I’m still having a lot of trouble with the game, because it’s unlike any other survival title I’ve ever played. It will treat you harshly, because fuck you, that’s why.

Being a veteran of Minecraft, I figured out the very basics of Don’t Starve fairly quickly. Collect things until you have enough things to make tools, with which to collect more things. So I fairly quickly managed to make an axe and a pickaxe, as well as a trap.

Even though I’m the sort of person who really hates games that punish you for existing, I just set down my hard earned money on Don’t Starve, as well as the DLC for it. Why? Because it was on sale on Steam.

Also, because it sounds vaguely like Minecraft, but with Lovecraftian creatures. That sounds genuinely interesting.

The enchanted amulet is a great item to have in Rack N Ruin, because it causes your mana to regenerate over time. There’s also a Trophy for getting the item in the PS4 version of the game, so Trophy hunters will definitely want to seek it out.